MOHANJEET, A LIFE
MOHANJEET is above all the encounter of a millennial culture, that of India, and its adopted city, Paris. The creator arrives there in the 1960s and opens her first boutique, LA MALLE DE L’INDE, and then one bearing her name Mohanjeet in 1968. The press immediately celebrates the talent of this pioneer, ambassador of Indian fashion, and success follows.
Mohanjeet, 45 years after her first fashion show in Paris, still embodies, according to the literal translation of her name: "SHE WHO CONQUERS LOVE." The audacious creator of the "Mini Sari", her energy, and generosity continue to captivate Paris. Her first clients and friends include Romain Gary, Jean Seberg, Catherine Deneuve, Yves Saint Laurent, Jane Fonda...
Her life is a novel of incessant encounters: journalists, novelists, filmmakers, actors, painters, photographers, and couturiers. She herself was a political journalist before becoming the creator we know, playing the role of costume designer for cinema, or opening her art gallery. Her life is a Patch work of lives, woven into each other. Better yet, it is like the clothes found painted on the Indian miniatures that inspired her so much. These figures with millimeter precision, on which one can discover up to seven or eight different prints.
Here, in broad strokes, is the exceptional journey of this extraordinary woman:
Mohanjeet was born in India in Lahore (now in Pakistan), into a large Sikh family which emigrates during the partition to Patiala, Punjab. Of a very independent nature, she studies passionately and passes her Baccalaureate at thirteen (13). She then tops her first university degree in philosophy. Her topic, illuminating and with unsuspected scope at the time: "Modern Philosophy following Descartes". She devours, among others, Jean-Jacques Rousseau or Joseph Prudhomme under the guidance of a Brahmin Master whose erudition rivaled that of a Sorbonne academician.
Mohanjeet's destiny seemed traced. She would one day only have to set foot on French soil, and the country would already belong to her. For now, she has an insatiable thirst for learning, waking up at 5:00 am to listen to Australian radio and discover foreign music programs. Sporty, she wins numerous tennis tournaments. Very natural, too much for India's taste, her attitude and outfits often cause Scandal. She was already creating her own small sari tops with collars and three-quarter sleeves, having her shoes made by drawing inspiration from a shape here, a detail there in English fashion magazines. Her Father, Director of Education in the Princely Principality of Patiala, wanted everyone to fulfill themselves. "FIRST FEMINIST IN THE WORLD" according to her, he sends her mother and sisters to school and university against general opinion, thereby losing the support of his family.
As a child, Mohanjeet told him, "I WILL GO WHERE THE SKY MEETS THE EARTH" - he would have replied, "Go, run!" A phrase that liberates her and plays a decisive role in her life.
